Posts by Pamela
Charles Perrault: The Father of the Fairy Tale?
I recently had reason to track down a few details about the story of Puss-in-Boots, which I frequently confuse with Dick Whittington and his cat[1]. Along the way I fell down rabbit hole or two about the story’s “author” Charles Perrault (1628-1703). (Does this surprise anyone?) Perrault is best known for the collection of fairy…
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From the Archives: The Nile
It is inevitable, at some point after I’ve returned from a trip I run out of blog-post steam. The notes I have made for myself about future posts no longer fire my imagination, or I don’t have enough information to turn them into stories.[1] Before I give up and move on to the other stories…
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From the Archives: Word with a Past–Parchment
And speaking of papyrus, as I believe we were, here’s a story that I first shared in 2013 in which papyrus played a critical role. It’s one I’ve always enjoyed. I hope you do,too. For hundreds of years papyrus was the principal material on which books (or at least hand-copied scrolls) were written. Since it…
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